Yep. The high cortisol from intense exercise and HIIT was destroying me. I switched to walking 6 days a week and everything is better. My sleep is 500% better, my skin is better, I lost 10 pounds, I eat better, I'm less anxious. Intense workouts were leaving me on edge and anxious for the rest of the day due to the cortisol spike.

You need to push your body to the edge to get that euphoria feeling oh god

At your age, you should definitely focus more on strength and less on cardio.

Anonymous wrote:OP, disregard the trolls. I too thought I needed to do cardio so I rode a bike - a real bike. I hated it and would drop off off too cold. Started weight training and was floored at how good I felt and am getting fit! When the weather is above 45 I’ll ride, but for fun. I’m not someone who follows fitness so this is all new to me too. I’m 57. Should have started lifting sooner but better late than never.

Kudos to you for finding what feels good!

Hi there! I'm 53 and just started weigh training a few months ago - as well as cycling! I agree cycling is hard but I'm not pushing myself, just enjoying the fresh air and getting some exercise. I agree with you about the weight training!!

I am 42 and cross training seems to be my key to not getting injured or too achy. I do cardio in the form of running (3 miles) or HIIT (30 min max) a few times a week. I also weight train (about 45 min) 2-3 times a week. Sessions vary but I reliably work out 5-6 days a week. I also am generally active (teaching, walking dog, walking to do errands, gardening, cleaning) and don’t really do much sitting till the evening. This keeps me in good physical and mental shape, and somewhere around 112-115 lbs at 5 foot 1. If I want to look really defined or fit I need to also track my calories and protein.

I can really tell my level of conditioning when I Nordic Ski in the winter. I saw a big boost when I started weight training years ago, and another when I added in some HIIT sessions, on top of steady state cardio.

I get it OP. I’m 40 and I love HIIT workouts but it’s getting harder to recover from them and I have a lot of lower back and hip problems that I am always having to manage. I can really only do HIIT twice a week at this point with a couple of rest or light exercise days in between or my back will go I to spasms which prevents me from moving much at all. I have a hard time embracing this reality as a former D1 athlete. I am very all or nothing where I feel like if I am going to work out it should be punishing because that’s what it used to take in order to be in competition shape. It’s like my competitive energy takes over when I’m in a workout class and I want to be the fastest/hardest working person there. I think most people hit a point where they have to start thinking about what is sustainable in the long run. If you’re lucky that is late in life. My back problems are more typical of a 60 something person so I guess that’s how I have to approach exercise now… sigh

OP, disregard the trolls. I too thought I needed to do cardio so I rode a bike - a real bike. I hated it and would drop off off too cold. Started weight training and was floored at how good I felt and am getting fit! When the weather is above 45 I’ll ride, but for fun. I’m not someone who follows fitness so this is all new to me too. I’m 57. Should have started lifting sooner but better late than never.

Kudos to you for finding what feels good!

Anonymous wrote:OP here - when I walk it's for about an hour, yoga/barre/pilates are usually hour sessions too. When I do strength training it's 30-50 minutes. I still get sore muscles (in a good way) and my heartrate is elevated during many of these workouts, but I don't get the joint pain I was getting from running and HIIT that involved lots of jumping.

You old though

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was doing a lot of running and HIIT workouts and this fall I decided I just wasn't feeling good. Too many aches and pains and starting to dread workouts.

So I switched to low impact strength/cardio routines, yoga, and walking. I haven't gained any weight, look forward to exercising, and feel better overall.

FWIW, I'm a 45 year old woman. Anyone else found the same?

Yes. I do yoga and walking and some body weight exercises. I love to run, but running no longer loves me. My dad once said nobody over 50 should run anymore. Maybe that should be 40. I don't fully agree with him, honestly, but high intensity exercise should be done super mindfully. It is so easy to get hurt as you get older. This isn't to say that HIIT and running is off limits to everybody. I'm sure folks will chime in and say how great it makes them feel, they haven't been injured, etc. Great! I think that's super! But I'm of the feeling that you have to work smarter to not injure yourself.

This is absolute nonsense.

Did you read what *I* said?